Arsenal travel to the Etihad this Sunday level on points with the reigning champions. They travel with the aim to prove that they are genuine title contenders who can win the big matches such as this.

Arsenal have had a strong start, going unbeaten and only conceding one goal, which frankly was a goalkeeping error that shouldn’t have happened. Arsenal sit in third place with City sitting one behind in fourth.

Although Manchester City are level with Arsenal, they haven’t had such a good start by their standards. Draws with Stoke and Liverpool have put them under pressure for a win on Sunday.

Head to Head

All fixtures between these clubs ended 1-0 last year, twice in City’s favour, but in the latest fixture Arsenal managed to grab a 1-0 win at the Emirates thanks to a late Arteta strike.

Tempers are known to flare in this fixture, and four red cards in the last four games show that no love is lost between these two teams.

Form Guide

The teams come into this game on different sides of the form spectrum. Arsenal are looking good, after  a 6-1 demolition of Southampton at the weekend and a somewhat fortunate 2-1 win at Montpellier midweek, morale is sky high.

City, on the other hand, are not looking as sharp. A draw with Stoke on Saturday followed by a crushing defeat in the last few minutes against Real Madrid on Tuesday has left them under great pressure to get a positive result against Arsenal.

Team News

Arsenal have been buoyed this week by the return of Wilshere and Frimpong to first team training after their long absences. Neither will be fit enough to play on Sunday but a return is near and I’m sure having them back in training has had positive effects on the Arsenal squad.

Mannone’s form this season has been impeccable, leaving Wenger a very tough decision to make. Apart from Szczesny there are no new injuries for Arsenal.

City could welcome back Aguero and Zabaleta to the squad after long term injuries, but I expect Aguero to start on the bench. Nasri will miss an encounter with his former teammates due to an injury he picked up at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.

Key Players

I believe this game will be won and lost in the midfield. Depending on whether Cazorla, who has been untouchable at times this season, can get past the strength of players such as Yaya Toure could ultimately decide the game. Diaby is also a key player for Arsenal as he maintains fitness and shows the World what a great player he is.

City will be looking at the likes of Yaya Toure and new signing Javi Garcia to stop Arsenal’s midfield from causing problems and the attacking prowess of players such as Silva and Tevez would be a threat to any defence. The defence that has worked so well for Arsenal recently faces its toughest examination yet.

Referee

Mike Dean is in charge for the game, and unbelievably, Arsenal have won only one of their last fourteen games with him in charge. The Gunners will want to change this run of luck on Sunday.

Possible Line Ups

Man City: Hart, Maicon, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Garcia, Barry, Milner, Toure, Silva, Tevez

Arsenal: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Diaby, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gervinho, Podolski.

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